Electric companies work to restore power in homes after the storm

CHICKASAW/LOWNDES COUNTIES, Miss. (WCBI)-  The light flickers and then the power goes out. That happened over the weekend for thousands of north Mississippi families.

The storm left many families in the dark and utility crews worked overtime to restore power in thousand of homes.

This weekend’s storm left a maze of broken power lines and poles. That’s why homeowners need to be careful. And that’s what takes lineman extra time.

“People are calling in I’ve got trees in the houses, trees on their lines, trees on their vehicles,” said General Manager of Natchez Trace Electric Power Shawn Edmondson.

Edmondson says around 7,300  families were without power in his coverage area.

“The first part of the storm is always hectic, you don’t really know where your damage is, you’re all split up and you’re sending people everywhere trying to do a damage assessment,” said Edmondson.

Then crews work to get those lines back up and running.

“Our men worked very hard and got 7,300 meters back on within three days,” said Edmondson.

Cliff Wall said 4-County crews are facing the same challenges – on a larger scale.

“It was from Choctaw County, to Lowndes County, to Clay and Noxubee. Several broke poles, a lot of wire down. In our area a lot of pine trees they snapped and tore all the wires down,” said Wall.

Around 13,000 families were without power.

Wall said the strong wind gusts and rain from this weekend swept through in a similar fashion to Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

“It came through the central part of our service territory and branched out and we saw the same kind of damage just not to the extent. Trees on lines, uprooted trees, the same way Katrina did just not on that level,” said Wall.

4-County crews worked throughout Saturday and into the night, with most households restored by Sunday evening.

“It was kind of a madhouse for the first couple hours then we got everybody lined out and it started coming together pretty quick,” said Wall.

There are currently 100 Natchez Trace Electric Power customers who are still without power. Edmondson says those families should have their power back on by the end of the day.

4-County Electric has sent a crew to assist Prentiss County Electric Power Association in power restoration efforts.